Hey, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Kelsey Quick and her new book, “A Violet Fire”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Kelsey
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
A Violet Fire
by Kelsey Quick
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GENRE: YA Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
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BLURB:
"A
vampire tale with a heady mix of defiance and doubt, rebellion and
romance."
~
Kirkus Reviews
"There
is not a single dull moment in this book... A Violet Fire has all the
ingredients to become the next Hollywood movie about vampires."
~
Readers' Favorite
"In
the Vampire Stratocracy of Cain, human blood is scarce. For centuries, councils
have sought to assuage the blood shortage by enslaving and breeding humans,
turning them into profitable supply units for the rich and the abled.
Today,
eighteen-year-old Wavorly Sterling is officially a supply unit, bound to serve
her blood willingly to her master for the rest of her life. One of only few
humans that was not bred in Cain, Wavorly knows freedom better than anyone, and
she is determined to escape the clutches of her oppressors—despite the allure
of forbidden love."
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EXCERPT THREE:
He
grabs the hair on the back of my neck and pulls down, exposing the breadth. My
mind leaps to my years of night terrors; to that vampire from ten years ago; to
my mother changing before my eyes into one of the fallen. I nearly forget to
breathe while terror floods my veins.
He’s
going to turn me into one of them!
“No! You can’t!” I scream as he lowers his face to
the crook of my neck and shoulder, his hot breaths sending chills along my
skin—as if each and every inch knows the horror that lies ahead.
“I
can,” he says.
My
fingers grasp at his immovable arms that have me locked against him. I pull and
push with as much might as my hands can muster, to no avail. If I am dirt, he
is steel.
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BOOK TRAILER:
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Kelsey will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC
to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
GUEST POST:
Five Ways to Deal with Rejection as a Writer
To
start off this post, I’m going to delve into the rejection I personally
received in the publishing community, how it led me to develop my five ways of
dealing with rejection, and how to become the strongest advocate of my own
book. In the effort to be honest and candid, here goes:
Way #1: Don’t give
up.
I did
not give up because I truly believe/believed in this book. Not because it’s
mine, nor because I’m a narcissist who believes everything I write is gold. In
fact, it’s kind of the opposite. Because A Violet Fire is my first manuscript,
and my experience prior amounts to two books worth of fan fiction only, I had
every reason to doubt myself—and I did. Imposter syndrome, man. But after
spending years rewriting, revising, learning, and perfecting by following the
depths of writing Twitter, I finally appreciated what I was reading. It also
helped finding a mentor and a couple of beta readers, who really fine-tuned my
work. I worked on the same book for over two years, and I refused to give up.
Way #2: Rejection
can sometimes be a test.
I
just knew I was going to get an agent last year after everything I had
put into this story. Vampires were coming back into style thanks to agent John
Cusick and editor Vicki Lame on Twitter—well, somewhat. I sent out right
around 100 query letters to Young Adult fantasy agents, and all but one
rejected without seeing past the first five pages. The one that did request,
however, liked it so much he asked for a Revise and Resubmit—and I was floored.
I expected him to reject within the first six chapters (because I had never
received a professional’s opinion before) and that’s how it goes in this
industry. You get a full request, you get feedback, you edit, you try someone
else—over, and over, and over until it lands or it doesn’t. A lot of writers, I
was surprised to find out, would refuse to do revise and resubmits. But I saw
it as an editorial test. How easy was I to work with as an author? And so I
agreed to his revision suggestions.
Way #3: Take
personalized rejection as motivation, it means you’ve spurred something in the
agent or editor.
I
revised, I resubmitted, and after about a six month wait, he eventually
responded that he “agonized over his decision,” but he had to reject since he
didn’t have the time or the passion for A Violet Fire despite my revision
hitting the mark. I’d like to say this rejection killed me. And at the time, it
did. But then I thought, “Wow. The very first full request I received almost
landed me a contract. Maybe this book is worthwhile after all, and vampires
just aren’t quite ready for a reappearance in the traditional publishing
market.” A normal and patient writer would have shelved this book for another
time and started working on a new one to query. However, I am neither of those
things. And good thing, too. Because if he were to have signed me, my book
wouldn’t be riding the coattails of the vampire resurgence brought forth by
Renee Ahdieh’s The Beautiful.
Way #4: Take the
negative energy from rejection and use it to find a way to succeed.
I
used that last rejection to fuel my spite-pool. This isn’t so much a
hate-filled endeavor, as I don’t hate anyone in traditional publishing—they
helped me get here, after all—but rather, I used my emotions on the matter as a
tool to propel me closer to my goals. I would research for hours how to
successfully self-publish, I would study for days how to make everything look
as professional as possible. I edited and re-edited my book close to 15 times
after that final rejection. And when I would grow weary, I would think, “No.
I need to do this. I need to prove them wrong.” This type A trait of mine
got me through the worst hits of self-doubt. It’s taken a bit of time to learn
how to psychologically manipulate myself in this way.
Way #5: Seriously,
never give up.
Perseverance
will set you apart in this industry. Luck can only get you so far. If you want
it, you have to fight for it—and honestly, it’s a fight you never stop
fighting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Kelsey Quick is a
novelist, artist, and businesswoman who loves her husband, huskies, and video
games. Since the age of two, Kelsey has been bound and determined to create.
From traditional impressionist paintings, to digital comic creation; from
fanfiction to full-length novels… her desire for crisp and prime escapism is
never-ending. A Violet Fire is her debut novel, harboring the idea she’s had
and held dear to her heart for over a decade.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COOL FACTS
ABOUT KELSEY:
Check out These Cool Facts About Kelsey:
1.) She can speak and write
conversational Japanese.
2.) She runs a steel company by
day and cuddles puppies by night. Writing usually happens in the early hours of
the morning.
3.) She finished college a year
early with a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Marketing is her
favorite subject, with psychology being a close second.
4.) Her husband is her high
school sweetheart and she loves him more than life, itself. No, really. They
are two happy/frustrated parents to two husky-furbabies.
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COOL FACTS
ABOUT VIOLET FIRE:
Check out These Cool Facts About Kelsey’s new book, A Violet
Fire:
1.) My debut novel, A Violet Fire, originally
started as a manga (Japanese comic book). I drew manga from the age of 11 until
I was 22 and so desperately wanted to be a manga/anime artist that I actually
studied abroad in Japan and placed a short story in front of an editor (they
rejected, but HEY, at least I can say I tried). ありがとうございました！
2.) I came up with the idea for A Violet Fire while
reading Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino in early 2007. While I was working on my
manga panels for it in math class (because screw math), a friend tapped me on
my shoulder and asked if I had read this book she was holding. It was
"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer and no, I had never even heard of it.
Once she told me how popular and good it was, I knew it then, I'd missed my
window. CURSE BEING 15 YEARS OLD DURING THE VAMPIRE CRAZE.
3.) A Violet Fire is my very first manuscript I have
ever written.
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CONNECT WITH KELSEY:
Website:
Blog:
Email:
contact@avioletfire.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
YouTube:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page #1:
BookBub Book Page #2:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Amazon Hardcover:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Hardcover:
Kobo eBook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
The Book Depository Hardcover:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Hardcover:
IndieBound CA Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Kelsey ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for welcoming me so graciously Ally, and thanks for hosting! I love your blog, it's so cute and what a "fabulous" name! :)
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask the author: at what age did you start writing?
ReplyDeletewhat inspired you?
Oooh, tricky question. I consider my writing journey starting 4 years ago when I began writing fanfiction. But technically I wrote poetry in middle school (I remember this distinctly since I was sent to the principal's office for plagiarizing because "it sounded so good" even though I did not). I also wrote 16 pages of a hunting-inspired story after reading The Yearling in seventh grade, but quickly gave up on it. I never really wrote again until 4 years ago, at age 23. :)
DeleteI love this post. It's so inspiring and interesting to hear about what success can come from a bit of rejection. So glad Kelsey stuck with it!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lottie. This is the post that I was most nervous to share as it tells a lot about what happened to me and how I had to overcome it. Everything was a risk. The moment I uploaded my book to NetGalley, I was crossing my fingers. The very first review I received from NG was a 1 star review that left me bedridden with depression for two days. Nothing is ever as easy and beautiful as it seems... but overall, I'm thankful all those things happened. It toughened me up.
DeleteHow many hours a day do you spend writing?
ReplyDeleteRight now, about none. haha That's because I'm heavily focused on my day job and my book launch. The week after December 9th is the launch of "writing season" where I will do everything in my power to write 2,000 words a day until the sequel is complete. So, probably around 2-3 hours a day, with a goal of 10,000 words a week. :)
DeleteThat gave me the motivation I needed to continue writing and query once my novel is done.
ReplyDeleteMy fear is that what if it takes me 2 years to write the book and by the time it's done Vampire-demon Hybrids are not interesting enough? What if readers no longer care for a bit of romance in what they are reading.
Ive watched lots of videos where readers say they don't care for romance in fantasy...
I'm so glad it helped you! That's what I was hoping to do. <3
DeleteHey, I get what you mean! I have some tips for overcoming fear, too:
1. Write it for you. You want to read your own story, right? Write it for you first. I wrote A Violet Fire because that idea had been pooling in my brain for over a decade and I was just ready to do something with it. I actually never even considered readership for the book until after I finished it.
2. Since you ARE considering readership, know this... most books, even if published by the Big 5, rarely get the readership and attention they deserve (welcome to the ever-growing midlist). If you want to read what you're writing, chances are someone else wants to as well, it just may not be as many as your daydreams cultivate.
3. Vampire-demon hybrid romances???? That sounds awesome!! Have you seen the paranormal romance section on Amazon??? It's thriving! That's why they think vampires "are coming back." Remember, everything is cyclical. It might take another 5-10 years, but your book will have a solid ground at some point again. :)
4. Most of my rejections came because of vampire-romance fatigue I think, so I understand the frustration of trends. Because I was certain I had a good story, I went ahead and did it myself, and so far people seem to like it well enough for a self-published book! I say, don't give up and write for you! :)
Thanks James! Glad you are following along :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday, thanks for sharing the great post :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great bit of insight!
ReplyDelete